The wonderful aroma of grilled beef found its way to almost every corner of the building in front of which Mag was cooking. Some students sniffed and looked around, trying to find where it came from.
“Your batch are the worst students I’ve ever had,” a bald homeroom teacher said in his classroom on the sixth floor. “A child, much younger than you, won the Outstanding Contribution Award, and now look at you, spinning books, spinning pens, courting. None of the books were written so you can spin them!”
He was one of the oldest teachers who had taught here almost all his life and was on the verge of retiring.
As one of the oldest teachers at Chaos School, no student dared to defy him, no student dared to defy him. Even the parents were listening in silence with their heads bowed because most of them had once been his students. Attending the parent-teacher meeting was like a walk down memory lane for the parents in this classroom.
However, the silent classroom began to have some stirrings.
The fragrance scratched at that itch in their hearts.
The students and parents couldn’t help but look out of the classroom. The fragrance came from outside—possibly roasted beef. However, this was Chaos School. It wasn’t meal time either, so who would be roasting beef in school? Especially during the parent-teacher meeting?
“Who’s doing the grilling? It smells great!”
“Yeah. It’s making me hungry.”
The students and parents discussed amidst murmurs, hearts filled with curiosity. They had even forgotten about the stern teacher, Hamilton, who was standing at the podium.
“Oh?” Hamilton’s gaze turned stern. People were whispering while he was speaking. This was forbidden even for parents.
He also caught a whiff of the grilled beef. His eyes lit up as his brows furrowed. He walked towards the door, mumbling, “Someone is out of his mind grilling beef on campus. And to actually make it smell so good.”
This happened across the different classrooms in the primary section. Even classes with stern teachers had walked to the corridor, much less the less stricter teachers. Students and parents crowded the corridor in an attempt to find that savoring fragrance.
“Never thought grilled beef would smell so good!”
“Is it really grilled beef? I’ve eaten grilled beef many times, but this smells different.”
“Amy’s father is so cool. It’s like he’s doing magic!”
“I want some beef kebabs, Mom.”
Now the parents in Amy’s class could naturally take in the richest fragrances emitted by Mag’s rack.
There were no greasy or cloyed smells, just pure fragrance. It inundated them without any rhyme or reason.
The children and parents were already enamored by the beef kebabs that Mag was flipping with deft hands. The glistening appearance made their mouths water.
The parents’ worries were gone. Now, the only thought on their mind was whether they had a chance to lay their fingers on a skewer of beef kebabs, or if they were only for the children. There were quite a number of them on the rack, so they were wondering if any of them would end up theirs.
At the same time, the parents looked at Mag in a different light.
They never expected such a feat from someone they looked down upon.
The sight and smell of beef made Joseph’s belly rumble. He raised his head to look at his mother—who had just stolen a furtive glance at the beef kebabs—and asked, “Can I take back what I just said, Mother?”
“I…” She glanced at his father, Bevis.
“As good as they may smell, they’re not safe to eat,” Bevis said gravely. “Restrain yourself, Joseph, you’re highborn, don’t embarrass me.” He paused for a moment, and then added, “I’ll buy three fried chickens for you if you don’t eat the beef kebabs.”
Joseph’s eyes went wide. “For real?” He nodded. “Okay, I’m going to eat three chickens!”
“There!” a man called out.
The other people in the building followed his eyes and saw the grill and a man brushing sauce on the sizzling kebabs.
“Holy sh*t! That man is grilling beef during the parent-teacher meeting! He must be out of his mind!”
“I don’t know if he’s out of his mind, but I know I’m out of my mind. What torture! I can see the food, I can smell it, but I can get none! This is absolute torture!”
They looked wistfully at the food. There was nothing they could do to stop their mouths from watering.
“Is that Amy? The girl who won the Outstanding Contribution Award?”
“Yeah! And the man grilling meat is her father? Who is the elf girl standing beside her? Her mother?”
“Her mother is a gorgeous elf, her father is a talented cook. God, how I envy her!”
Mag put the well-cooked kebabs on the part of the grill where the heat was low. “These are for children and teachers,” he called out. “Could someone please help me hand them out?”
“We’ll do it.” Gjerj and his wife walked over, followed by several other parents.
“Joseph is good,” Bevis said when Gjerj handed one to his son.
“I… I don’t want it.” It was all the fat boy could do to tear his eyes away from the kebab. Fried chickens, fried chickens, fried chickens! he reminded himself over and over again.
Gjerj shrugged, and then gave it to another kid.
“They’re still hot,” Mag called. “Make sure you blow on them before eating.” He walked over to the teachers with several kebabs. “Here, see if you like the taste.”
“Thank you! I know from the smell I’ll like it!” the common language teacher said, taking one in his hand and biting off a piece.
Immediately he opened his mouth as it was still too hot. He almost spat it out.
The burning sensation wore off quickly, and then he tasted the burnt flavor and the sauce. He normally detested garlic for its sharp and overwhelming flavor, but the flavor of this garlic sauce was very mellow and delicious.
As his teeth went into the meat, more flavors came out with the juices. He felt as if his taste buds were rejoicing, and he was simply unable to stop eating!
“This is incredible!” he exclaimed in wonder after he swallowed. “I’ve never had anything so good before!”
Judging from the cries of amazement, the kids also liked the food very much.
“Someone else always has it better. This fact has never disappointed me,” a girl sighed as leaned on the rail, looking down at the kids gobbling beef kebabs.
